1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a building protective and aesthetic siding that is used to cover the exterior of a building and, specifically, to a building siding that includes horizontal planks that are interlocked together on top and bottom and that are installed from the top of a building wall in a downward direction. The invention includes the use of an adaptor strip that can be adhesively affixed to existing fiber cement siding planks or comparable material while providing for top down interlocking of the planks for durability and protection from wind and rain.
2. Description of Related Art
Many buildings, residential dwellings and office buildings, use building siding on the exterior of the building for protecting the building from the elements and for aesthetic purposes. Typical building siding is constructed of a plurality of elongated, horizontal panels, planks, or strips that are typically overlapped from the wall bottom upwardly, with each next piece added that overlaps the piece below it. Such overlapping panels are used to protect the building from rain, solar and wind damage. The siding used on many residential and commercial buildings for the exterior is typically made of wooden planks that are overlapped, typically from the wall bottom upwardly. Plastic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and aluminum sheets have also been used. Many of these materials are also sloped to aesthetically look like wood planks that are overlapped, one on top of the other giving each plank a slight incline instead of a substantially flat surface.
One of the problems with conventional siding that is constructed with panels or planks from the wall bottom up, i.e. each horizontal plank being covered by one on top of it, is that high winds can lift a plank reducing the siding durability.
The siding described herein adds durability and protection from wind and rain because the siding planks are placed on the building from the top down. Each of the individual horizontal planks are more securely held in place because of the top and bottom interlock connections.
The present invention can be used with existing planks such as fiber cement siding by utilization of an adaptor strip that is adhesively affixed to each existing fiber cement siding plank that allows the fiber cement siding plank to be interlocked from the top down for greatly improving durability and protection from wind and rain. Each plank and adaptor strip is fastened to the building exterior wall along the base area of the adaptor strip.